Read It and Reap: Bargain knockoffs of popular titles no sub for legit editions

By Ann Connery Frantz, Correspondent

Sunday

Sep 8, 2019 at 3:00 AM

Buyer beware. That inexpensive dress you order online may arrive with pockets where zippers belong and material that won’t cover all your bodily parts. Regulations aren’t the same the world over. Two writer friends recently complained about bad choices made online, after which I discovered that bad judgment extends to book purchases. Book club members often have the means to purchase a genuine copy, which is usually discounted, or they can borrow one through the library.

I’ve yet to understand or accept the avid pursuit of books online by readers who attempt to buy them for a dollar or a dime. The all-out pursuit of books for pennies has created a market for false, poor-quality products. (Moreover, it cheats authors.) Amazon’s popularity has attracted a plethora of publishers producing books in countries where copyright doesn’t exist and counterfeits may be boldly marketed.

This situation is most likely to exist among classics needed by students, but it’s not limited to books of broad interest.

David Streitfeld, writing in The New York Times, has criticized Amazon’s deluge of faked classics, saying what you buy may be a trashed version of the original. Streitfeld points out multiple counterfeit versions of George Orwell’s “1984” as an example of faked books. A student may order this book expecting the original but receive instead a watered-down or jibberish-laden version.

Watch the publisher name when you pick up a book. Legitimacy is important, as is respect for writers living and dead.

To be fair, Amazon has tried to maintain standards, but it’s somewhat like scooping up loose beads after they’ve rolled onto the floor and down the stairway. To police its sellers would take more time and cost more — and Amazon’s main game is selling cheap.

One City One Story 2019

Every year, avid readers choose to read the same short story in preparation for the Boston Book Festival, where they can discuss it. This year’s One City One Story selection is "Yvonne," written by Ciera Burch, an Emerson College MFA student. The selection committee says "Yvonne" is a beautifully written multigenerational story that is "a sensitive portrayal of imperfect people."

You can pick up a free copy of the story through the festival website, bostonbookfest.org, or at various locations around the city. Burch will be at the festival Oct. 19 and 20.

Author appearances

Jenna Blum, author of “Those Who Save Us” and “The Lost Family,” will be at Tatnuck Bookseller at Westboro Shopping Center at 7 p.m. Sept. 12.

Larry Spotted Crow Mann will speak at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 12 at the Gladys E. Kelly Library Friends’ annual meeting in Webster. He has written three books on Nipmuc culture.

Kristan Higgins will be at Old Sturbridge Village’s Brewer Theater at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 11 to talk about her novel, “Life and Other Inconveniences.” Her last book, “Good Luck With That,” was a New York Times best-seller, as were a number of her 12-plus novels. She is a guest of the Joshua Hyde library book club, Armchair Travelers.

Reader groups

Sutton’s Taft Public Library will meet Sept. 9 to discuss Tolstoy’s “Anna Karenina” and “Breakfast With Buddha” by Roland Merullo.

Paxton COA Book Club will meet at 11 a.m. Sept. 9 in the Senior Center to discuss "Where the Crawdads Sing" by Delia Owens.

Webster’s Gladys E. Kelly Library Book Club will meet at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 16 at 2 Lake St., to discuss Meghan Maclean Weir’s “The Book of Essie.” All welcome.